Women are being urged not to have IVF amid the coronavirus outbreak over fears the virus negatively affects pregnancy.

A statement issued by the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology says all couples considering fertility treatment should avoid becoming pregnant at this time.

It advised those who are already having IVF to consider freezing their eggs or the embryos they have created for a pregnancy until the pandemic is halted.

Meanwhile a mother-to-be is concerned hospitals will be overwhelmed when she is due to give birth next month.

Natalie Lyons, from Derby, is due to give birth to her second child in a month. She says she is doing her best not to panic, but is concerned about hospitals becoming overwhelmed and has struggled to get hold of supplies such as nappies.

The 33-year-old mother-of-one has followed the Governments advice and yesterday stopped her job as a hairdresser to start maternity leave three weeks early.

Im trying not to panic but when you have a baby you need all these supplies, and how are we meant to get them if were advised to stay inside?

ESHRE says all those considering or planning treatment to have a baby should put it on hold as a precautionary measure.

But many of the 68,000 women who choose to have IVF every year in the UK are in their late thirties and have little time to delay.

It comes following reports of women infected with coronavirus giving birth to premature babies in China.

However ESHRE which provides guidance for fertility clinics across Europe and in the UK notes the reports are based on limited data with no strong evidence.

In its statement, ESHRE said: As a precautionary measure and in line with the position of other scientific societies in reproductive medicine we advise that all fertility patients considering or planning treatment, even if they do not meet the diagnostic criteria for Covid-19 infection, should avoid becoming pregnant at this time.

The NHS today revealed it would send pregnant staff to lower risk hospitals in areas with few cases of the virus as the crisis escalates over fears for their safety.

And mothers-to-be are strongly advised to follow social distancing measures such as avoiding public transport, socialising in groups or going to the cinema or reataruants.

Despite this, the Royal College of Midwives yesterday urged them to attend antenatal appointments.

The UKs chief medical adviser, Professor Chris Whitty, said there is currently no evidence to suggest any coronavirus-related complications in pregnancy.

But he added the UK was still very early in what we know about this, stating: Infections and pregnancy are not a good combination in general and that is why we have taken the very precautionary measure while we try and find out more.

Yesterday the Prime Minister said millions of the elderly and most vulnerable will need to shield themselves from social contact and stay at home for three months.

But theadvice stopped short of defining explicitly who needs to stay at home.

Pregnant women in the UK are expected to be among those told in the coming days to self-isolate for 12 weeks and avoid non-essential contact with others.

Boris Johnson acknowledged that drastic action was required to quell the spread of the deadly coronavirus which has killed 55 and infected more than 1,500 throughout the country.

By the weekend, those with the most serious conditions will be advised to take steps to ensure they are largely shielded from social contact for around 12 weeks.

It comes afterNHS hospitals were told tocancel operations for three months in a bid to free up 30,000 beds in preparation for a surge in coronavirus patients.

In a call to arms letter sent to hospital bosses today, NHS Englandsaid trusts should cancel all non-urgent surgeries starting from April 15 for at least 12 weeks.

It is hoped the measure could free up a third of the 100,000 hospital beds in England so the health service is not overwhelmed by the pandemic.

Staff who have family members self-isolating at home will also be offered to stay in a hotel for free so they can continue working and not have to join them in quarantine.

The letter, which laid out the health services coronavirus battle plan, also called for all inpatients who are medically fit to be discharged immediately.

It stated that staff must take part in special training for dealing with a high number of patients on ventilators andbegin work setting up makeshift intensive care wards.

The call to arms comes after the UK suffered 407 more coronavirus infections and two more deaths.It means there are now officially 1,950 people with the disease and 71 have succumbed to it.

Any cancer operations and patients needing emergency treatment will not be affected by the new measures.

The letter from NHS England chief executive Simon Stevens said: The operational aim is to expand critical care capacity to the maximum; free up 30,000 (or more) of the English NHSs 100,000 general and acute beds.

Assume that you will need to postpone all non-urgent elective operations from 15 April at the latest, for a period of at least three months.

However you also have full local discretion to wind down elective activity over the next 30 days as you see best, so as to free up staff for refresher training, beds for Covid-19 patients, and theatres/recovery facilities for adaptation work.

In the meantime hospitals were told to do as much elective surgery, such as hip operations and knee replacements, as possible so that by mid-April there are thousands more free beds.

Sir Simon warned frontline staff that dealing with the outbreak was going to be a very difficult time.

He said those required to self-isolate because a family member has symptoms or has tested positive will be offered to stay in a hotel.

The letter adds: For those staff affected by PHEs 14 day household isolation policy, staff should on an entirely voluntary basis be offered the alternative option of staying in NHS-reimbursed hotel accommodation while they continue to work.

Pregnant, elderly and staff with underlying conditions will either be moved to lower risk hospitals in areas with few cases, according to the document.

Clinicians who fall under this category will be able to do online or video consultations from home.

As well as keeping staff healthy, Sir Simon said it was vital NHS staff were trained about how to care for ventilated patients.

He gave trusts two weeks to put all clinical and patient facing staff through refresher training.

Sir Simon added that patients who did not need to be in hospital should be discharged as quickly as possible adding: Community health providers must take immediate full responsibility for urgent discharge of all eligible patients identified by acute providers on a discharge list.

For those needing social care, emergency legislation before Parliament this week will ensure that eligibility assessments do not delay discharge.

This could potentially free up to 15,000 acute beds currently occupied by patients awaiting discharge or with lengths of stay over 21 days.

The letter confirmed that recently retired staff would be asked to return to the health service during the crisis and that medical students would be fast tracked into the NHS.

As the NHS ramped up its coronavirus efforts, the governments chief scientific adviser today revealed there are likely to be as many as 55,000 cases of coronavirusin the UK.

Sir Patrick Vallance said modelling of the spread of the disease in Britain showed that for every death there was likely to be 1,000 positive cases.

Latest official statistics put the death toll at 55 which means it is a reasonable sort of ballpark to think there are now more than 50,000 cases nationwide, he said.

Last week the government estimated the number of cases was likely to be between 5-10,000.

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Women told NOT to have IVF amid the coronavirus outbreak by fertility watchdog - Infosurhoy